1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flexible surfaces for use as walkways, roadways, support barriers or the like and, more particularly, to a system of articulated rigid members that may be mounted to form a surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, it has been the general practice to employ various assemblies of inter-linked members for covering a strip of ground to provide a temporary or emergency path. Typically, such assemblies comprise a number of rigid members flexibly linked by means of a flexible rope on which the members are threaded or by means of interlocking elements that are attached to and extend between adjacent members. The flexibility of the rope and the interlocking elements enable the assemblies to be laid on an uneven strip of ground or other surface and to be rolled up for storage or for moving them about. Examples of such prior art assemblies may be found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,685,403; 3,595,140; 4,681,482; 4,047,257; and 3,912,408. Similar articulated structures used as doormats may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,766,020; 4,804,570; and 4,654,245. A catalogue by Leichtung Workshops, March 1989, shows a flexible doormat made of wooden slats and spacers that are held together with a polypropylene rope. A more recent catalog by Solutions (1991) shows a walkway. Both catalogues include rigid slats having a grooved side for receiving a matching spacer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,542 issued to the inventor is related to this application. U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,542 describes a walkway assembly useful for making turns. U.S. Pat. No. 305,328 describes a street pavement system in which adjacent rail sections are secured together by rigid bolts.
Although such prior art devices have served the purpose, they have not been widely used by the general public for a variety of reasons. Many prior art devices are designed to be used in only a highly specialized environment. Others incorporate complex combinations of elements making them expensive to manufacture, cumbersome to assemble and disassemble, and difficult to repair and maintain. Other prior art devices also have the disadvantage that the shape of the spacers allow them to become improperly aligned between adjacent rigid bars. While there has been a long recognized need for improvements in the design of such structures, no practical device has yet been devised that resolves many of the current shortcomings. Ideally, a portable supporting surface would be manufactured from a combination of simple elements, be easy to assemble and disassemble, be collapsible into a compact configuration for moving and storage, be easy to clean, and be capable of assuming a variety of shapes so that it may be safely used over irregular surfaces, may be made to follow a winding path or may be positioned on its edge to form a stable support or barrier. The present invention fulfills this need.